Thailand wants to host Asia-EU leaders meeting
Thailand wants to host Asia-EU leaders meeting
SINGAPORE (AFP): Thai Foreign Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday offered to host a summit of Asian and European leaders in 1995 to tear down trade barriers.
Thaksin said he had discussed the initiative with his Singapore counterpart Shanmugam Jayakumar including the possibility of holding the meeting immediately after a summit of ASEAN leaders in Thailand in December.
"I support the idea but we have to work out details with other countries. I just learnt from Jayakumar that December might not be good timing because the European Union (EU) has its own meetings," he told a news conference.
Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong first floated the idea for an East Asian-EU summit during a visit to France last October when he met President Francois Mitterand Prime Minister Edouard Balladur.
Singapore and other East Asian officials say there is a need for the two regions to match expanding ties between East Asia and North America built around the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
European and Asian businessmen issued a similar call for the two regions to forge closer economic and political links at a conference here a few days before Goh's visit to France.
Expansion
Thaksin said the original plan had been expanded to include all Asian countries willing to participate, not just East Asia's booming economies.
"I don't know if we have enough time to find out what other countries think and how many countries will join (the summit) especially countries that are not ASEAN members," he said.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, formed 28 years ago, groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam is expected to be formally admitted to the group this year.
Thaksin said he was unsure whether the Thailand would offer to host the summit if the meeting could not be held in December.
But Thailand would remain committed to the idea of closer ties between Asia and the EU and not just between East Asia and America, he said.
"This is especially important for Thailand because the EU is an important market place for our agricultural products," Thaksin said.
Regional diplomats say Singapore began consulting Asian leaders on its initiative at the APEC summit in Jakarta in November.
France which took over the presidency of the EU this month is expected to soon begin sounding opinion of the group's 15 members on the plan, a Thai diplomat said.
Thaksin, a millionaire businessman who was appointed foreign minister in October, flew to Jakarta yesterday before returning to Singapore for a two-day private visit over the weekend.